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Module 05 — Customer conversations

Answer in minutes, not hours

You'll build a coverage plan so every conversation has someone watching it, set fixed reply windows, and triage messages so the urgent ones never wait.

  • 3 min read + 20 min exercise
  • Lesson 1 of 3
  • Free · No sign-up

The problem

The first reply goes out, and then the conversation drifts. The customer answers your question, and their reply sits for half a day — because everyone assumed someone else had it, or because it arrived in the middle of a job.

Why it matters

Speed matters most while the customer is actively deciding. Every hour a live conversation waits makes the business that answers first more likely to win. You don't need to be instant everywhere — you need to be predictable.

1 The method: coverage, windows, triage

  1. CoverageWho watches which door at which time, written down.
  2. WindowsFixed times for real replies, promised to customers.
  3. TriageUrgent first, quick answers next, long ones in a block.

2 Step by step

  1. Write the coverage plan

    For each door and each part of the day, one name. Include lunch, days off and the hours you're out on jobs. Gaps are allowed. Gaps nobody knows about aren't.

  2. Set three or four reply windows

    Fixed times each day to clear every open conversation. Your acknowledgement promises a time; the windows keep that promise.

  3. Triage with three labels

    Now — ready to book, upset, or time-sensitive. Quick — answered from the answer bank in a minute. Later — needs a quote or some thought. Clear Now first, then Quick, then block time for Later.

  4. Say “on it” when a real answer takes time

    If you can't answer properly inside a window, tell the customer when you will. Silence reads as “not interested.”

  5. Measure your median reply time every week

    Sample ten conversations and take the middle value. Compare it with the baseline you wrote down in lesson 1.3.

Example · illustrative

Coverage for two people who are out on jobs all day

Both owners of the cleaning company clean from 9 to 3. Their plan: Ana checks every door at 10:30, 12:30 and 3:15; Luis takes 7 p.m. for anything tagged Later. The away message promises “by 12:30 or 3:15 today.”

Nothing about their day got longer. Replies stopped depending on luck — and customers stopped sending the same message twice.

Your exercise · about 20 minutes

Plan your coverage

Template · Coverage plan
DOOR | WEEKDAY MORNING | WEEKDAY AFTERNOON | EVENING | WEEKEND
Website form & email |  |  |  |
Phone & texts |  |  |  |
Social messages & chat |  |  |  |

REPLY WINDOWS: __:__   __:__   __:__   __:__
TRIAGE: NOW (booking / upset / time-sensitive) · QUICK (answer bank) · LATER (needs a quote or thought)
Template · On it
Thanks, [Name] — good question. I want to get this right, so I'll check [what] and reply by [time].

Be predictable first. Fast follows.

Your next action

Tomorrow, clear every open conversation in your first reply window before you do anything else.